Inside The Mind
by I painted the kitten
Summary: The death of an agent leaves a space for someone new. What talents will she bring? Rated PG just in case. Please R&R! (This story is possibly on permanent hiatus.)
1. Call Me Manny

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING about Numb3rs, it's characters, yada yada yada. I wish I did though. What a great idea….

Spoilers: Episode 2 "Uncertainty Principle" (kind of a spoiler, but not really.)

Pairing: Charlie/Manny (Yes, I know you don't know Manny yet, but you shall…)

Notes: This is my first multiple chapter fanfic that I'm submitting anywhere and it's only my second Numb3rs fanfic. Please be gentle with your reviews! I don't mind positive criticism, but please don't be evil. I warn you, I'm not entirely math or crime mystery savvy, so be nice if I mess up horribly.

And now I present…

**Inside the Mind**

Chapter 1 

_Knock knock._

The loud murmurs of the FBI office were broken by the sound of a knock on the glass doors. All the agents looked up, annoyed at the interruption. They needed all the time they could get on this case. Don Epps looked at the figure standing outside and motioned for everyone to get back to work. He gave the woman a slight smile as he stood up and walked over to her. Opening the door, he revealed a young woman, who looked at him eagerly. She was medium height and medium build, with forever sad gray eyes and long muddy brown hair, pulled into a neat ponytail. She looked professional in a gray and black suit, but she wore a face of shyness and confusion.

Don recognized her instantly. He had seen pictures of her when he had been choosing replacements for the agents killed in the recent ambush attack at the bank. She had been a prime candidate for them, still young, but experienced. Her file said that she had been working at the New York FBI department for a few years, but wished to move to a warmer climate. This request brought her to Don and he felt very fortunate to have her.

"Hi. Samantha? Samantha Everet right?" Don said, extending his hand.

'_Wow. He's handsome,'_ she thought. Blinking, the thought jumped from her mind. "Yeah. Call me Manny please." She took his hand cautiously, her grip firm but gentle. _'She'll be perfect,' _Don thought.

"Okay Manny, well, welcome to the Bureau. I won't bother you with many introductions. You'll learn everyone's names quickly." He led her to the glass board filled with equations. Manny looked at them in awe. She wasn't used to working like this, with math. She was never very good at math, so it may be a problem. "This," Don continued, "is my brother Charlie. He's kind of a part-time consultant for us." Manny's attention skipped from the math to Charlie and her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. _'This is going to be difficult,'_ she thought, looking at his handsome features. Charlie smiled at her and nodded.

"Hey," he said simply, extending his hand as well. She shook it gentler than Don's, still in awe of her co-workers. _'This is going to be very difficult,_' she thought

Don snapped her back out of her dream state. "This is my partner, Agent Terry Lake. She'll be here to help you as well." The women smiled at each other, both wondering if the other noticed the charm of the Epps brothers. Don cocked an eyebrow at them. "This is-" Don was cut off by the ringing of a phone. "Sorry, one sec." He picked up the phone, sounding annoyed. "Hello. Hey. Yeah. Okay. We'll be right there." Don's voice sounded anxious. "Everybody! We have a lead, we need to get out of here." He turned to Manny. "We have a lead on this case and I'm sorry, but I have to go," he said, grabbing his coat and walking towards the door. "I'll have someone explain the case to you later. Your desk is right there," he pointed to an empty desk by Terry's, "and you can start putting your stuff down if you want." He had his coat on now and got halfway out the door. "We'll be back," he said, looking her in the eye. Manny got a feeling as though Don had suddenly become her big brother, comforting her. Don noticed the feeling too but did not acknowledge it, as his mind was on other things. He continued out the door and into one of the trucks waiting outside. Manny was left in the office alone with Charlie. There was silence for a minute, broken by a pencil falling from a desk. Both jumped at the sound, before nervously laughing to each other. 'Well, now, this is awkward,' Manny thought. Charlie shared the exact same thought.


	2. The Problem Was Wrong

Chapter 2 

Charlie and Manny stood around the office, smiling at each other, trying to avoid any uncomfortable talking. Both, it seems, were not gifted in the social sense. Charlie was the first to break the silence.

"So, did you transfer here, or are you…uhh…new?" he asked, stuttering a little as he spoke. Manny was impressed by his first step.

"I transferred here. From New York. It's just too cold over there." She smiled, starting to loosen up a little.

"Right, right." Charlie smiled a little as well. "I've never been to the east coast. How is it over there?" he asked, moving away from the board slightly.

"It gets cold a lot, but not everywhere. It's nice. You should visit sometime."

"I'll have to try."

And the silence continued. This time it was Manny's turn to talk.

"What's this?" Manny questioned, motioning to the problem on the board. She walked over to it and looked at the numbers and letters and signs intensely, as if she would be able to understand it if she stared at it long enough.

"It's a formula I developed. It goes with the case." Charlie looked at his problem, proud of this one. The case seemed simple enough and so this problem matched its simplicity. Or, it did in his mind. It made no sense in most people's minds.

"So that's what you do? Use math to help with the cases?" He nodded, still looking at his problem. "Ah. That's cool. We don't really have that in New York." She smiled, thinking of her home. Her old home, that is. "What is this case anyway?"

Charlie still faced the problem, but his eyes were dazed, looking past the equation. "It's really a strange case. It started out simple, something worth ignoring by the FBI. But it got bigger." He paused. "It started as a simple breaking and entering. Only a few hundred dollars worth of things were stolen. Then another breaking and entering occurred, but this time a little more was taken and the owners of the house were roughed up a bit. It's been escalating like that, up to the last one. A large house was broken into and thousands of dollars of one-of-a-kind items were stolen, the father of the household strangled to death and the two children physically assaulted. We're not sure what the person will do next. That's the problem." Charlie's eyes refocused on the problem. "I came up with a simple problem to track their movements. It was really easy; I've done it many times. I actually just did a similar problem not too long ago."

Manny just listened in awe to something she'd never understand. She had a creative mind, one that could follow the thoughts of a criminal rather than the patterns. She had a knack for picking out a motive or a blip in a pattern when no one else could. "That's incredible," was all she could say.

Charlie blushed at her adoration. He was used to getting complements from adults, but the awe of a gorgeous girl was hard to come by for him. Especially when it involved math.

The two of them continued talking for a time, exchanging light conversation, talking about their pasts, interesting cases from the FBI, anything and everything they could think of. In time, they had become very comfortable with each other and knew quite a lot of the other. Manny knew all about Charlie's difficult childhood, trying to deal with such a gift. Charlie knew all about Manny's time on Broadway and how she stopped when her father was killed in the line of duty.

The group of agents returning broke their conversation. Some of them were a little out of breath, but everyone seemed okay. Don walked to the two, his face grim. "Something was wrong Charlie. With the problem." Charlie looked at him in horror.


	3. Numbers Can't Predict Inteligence

Chapter 3

Don looked at his brother with a worried look on his face. Of course he was worried about the case, but he knew how his brother could be if he was wrong. "How…How? How could it possibly…possibly be wrong? There's just no…no way," Charlie stammered, furrowing his brow as the equation sped through his mind. Everything checked out, he knew it did. He had made that mistake once. He would never had sent them if there was any way that equation was wrong.

"Sorry Charlie, but it was. We went to the predicted spot because there had been a disturbance call. As soon as we got there, we got a call that _across town_ there had been a robbery/homicide that fit the style of our man. The place couldn't have been further from the spot. I'm really sorry, but it was wrong." Don gingerly touched his brother's arm, waiting for a reaction. He paid such close attention to Charlie that he didn't notice Manny's strange behavior. Her mind began to race, not with numbers, but with thoughts, ideas, and loopholes in Charlie's equation. She quickly reviewed everything that she'd been told, about the case, about the area, about Charlie. In a trance, she walked over to the map where the crime scenes were shown and where the assumed next crime scene was. An anonymous agent politely pushed past her and added the site of the actual crime. On a map, the predicted scene and the real one were more than six inches apart. _This place couldn't have been further from the spot. _'He's right,' she thought. 'It's way too far away.' _I came up with a simple problem…It was really easy; I've done it many times before. '_Maybe too easy,' she thought. _I did a similar one not too long ago. _

All the sudden, Manny saw a puzzle in her mind and one by one, the pieces fell into their place. She smiled and turned to face the agents.

"Nothing's wrong with Charlie's problem. There's no way math could predict this. Numbers can't predict the intelligence of a criminal." She looked at them, smiling coyly.

"What the hell are you talking about Everet?" Don asked, raising his voice. He was getting more aggravated with this case by the second.

"The criminal knew exactly what they were doing today. And I think they knew exactly what we were doing. This person is much smarter than you all took him for."

Charlie looked at her, confused by what she was saying and still mad that something had gone wrong. Don's face began to light up. He was beginning to understand it.

**Authors Note: Wow! I can't believe I got a response so quickly. Everyone one here is so great! I love to read the stories from other people and it's cool to know other people enjoy my stories. I'm currently writing chapter 4 so any ideas would be interesting to hear. Thanks again for the support!**

**-Shelby**


	4. Mathematically Spitting in Our Faces

Chapter 4

"Wait, so you're saying this guy knew where we were going?" Don looked at her curiously.

Manny's grin grew as she saw a light go off in Don's mind. "Exactly. Not only did he know where we'd be but I think he knew why we'd be there." She turned quickly to Charlie. "Char, you said this problem was easy, right? You'd had a similar one a few weeks ago, you said."

"Yeah I did. Almost exactly like this one. Well, in the beginning it was. It didn't work until we looked for two points of origin of the murders." Charlie was not having the easiest time catching on. "You think we need to look for another point?"

"No, no. You're thinking of it too much like math," she remarked, resting her hand on his shoulder. Don's smile became a smirk; when did Charlie not see things as math? "Think in terms of human free will. If you were in this guy's shoes, trying to rob all these places and you knew you were creating a pattern, do you really think you'd stick to it? Hell no! It'd be too easy to follow. I think he's trying to throw us off."

Terry was the next to understand. "You think he's just been doing all this to throw us off?"

"No, not throw us off. Well, okay, a little bit, but I think he's mathematically spitting in our faces. He's giving us clues we won't see, showing us where the real crime will be."

Charlie suddenly got it. "That makes sense! He's leading us down the easier path, which, in this case, is the wrong one."

"Bingo," Manny said, pointing at Charlie. 'For a genius, he's a bit slow,' she thought. "We need to keep an eye on the location of the planned crime, because I think he'll use it as a decoy. We won't be expecting to look in the logical place, just the unlikely one. And Charlie," she said, moving closer to his, placing both hands on his shoulders. 'He has broad shoulders for a mathematician,' she thought, fighting the urge to blush. "You need to start looking for alternate patterns that don't quite make sense. Patterns that only mostly fit the crimes are the ones we need." She nodded her head at him, finished with what she had to say. Everyone stood in silence for a minute, not sure what to do.

"Why are we standing around? We have new information. We need to act on it. Get moving! Now!" Don barked. Everyone started moving, refueled by Manny's theory.

Little beads of steam formed on Manny's forehead, burning her face. She quickly replaced the lid of the pot, grinning and looked up at Don, who was staring at her.

"For a 'fabulous' cook and a FBI agent, you think you'd be smart enough _not _to stand over a boiling pot of noodles," Don commented, handing her a napkin to wipe off her face.

"You overestimate me Agent Epps. I am indeed not that smart." Manny laughed at him, gladly taking the napkin. She was in a great mood, but how could she not be? She was at the Epps's household, cooking dinner for all three Epps men, celebrating her discovery and Charlie's new equation. The poor men hadn't had a woman cooking for them in sometime and of course Manny didn't mind spending a night with Don and Charlie. Yes, this was heaven.

**Authors Note: I leave you with an extremely lame cliffhanger-like thing. Actually, it's not really, but I want to write a lot about the night, so I'm putting it in a whole other chapter. Look for it around Tuesday, I believe. Please, please, please RR! Thanks, much love!  
-Shelby**


	5. Tinsel and a Can of Tunafish

Chapter 5

Heaven it was. Manny stirred the ravioli noodles, enjoying the cool of the house. Maybe it was just cooler without the steam on her face. Either or, Manny was enjoying herself so far. She had met Mr. Epps and could tell exactly why each son was like they were. Don embodied the strength and level headedness of his father, where as Charlie gained his deep emotions, guilt and compassion. She could also tell there were a lot of unexplained holes in their personality, probably filled by their deceased mother. Judging by the family she left, she was an amazing woman.

Don had left the kitchen, joining his father in the living room. Alan looked at his son approvingly. "Do you like her?" he asked Don, nudging his with his elbow.

"What? Sure, she's a great agent, really smart and good for the team." Don had a feeling he knew what his father was getting at.

"Well, yes,Don, I figured that, but do you really like her?" Alan suggested.

"No Dad!"He gave his Dad aplayful shove."She's way too young for me anyway," Don laughed, shaking his head. He was right; this was exactly where his dad was going.

"Ah."

"But I think Charlie has her covered Dad."

"Really?"

"See for yourself." Don motioned to the kitchen where Charlie stood next to Manny, both smiling. Alan smiled as well, satisfied that one of the Epps boys was making a move on her. Alan was tempted to go for her himself.

"Today was amazing," Charlie remarked, holding his sore stomach. Neither of them could stop laughing about a story Manny had told.For some reason,tinsel and a can of tunafish was funnier than it should be.Charlie thought changing the subject may help.

Manny's face was still wrinkled, trying to prevent the laugh from coming. "Thanks," was all she could get out.

"How'd you do it?" Charlie asked, calming down and getting a little more serious. Manny saw his change in disposition and let her face relax, the grin still gracing her lips.

"I'm not really sure. I just did. I could never figure out the math that you do, just like it's hard for you to follow my train of thought. I have a pretty good memory for voices and things people say. It's pretty handy when you work for the FBI."

"Incredible. I can understand having hard to follow thoughts though. Not many people can follow what I say, so don't feel bad."

Manny chuckled. "Thanks. I won't then." She leaned in closer to Charlie. He could feel her breath on his chin, her being shorter than him. She was relaxed, not pushing him to do or say anything. Charlie was not entirely sure what he should be doing or thinking. His body tensed up, his skin tingled. Not many women made friends with him, let alone came onto him. He did like her though. He had since she had come to the office. She had such an exotic look to her, with dark hair and almond shaped eyes. She was able to look exotic, sad and radiant all at the same time. Pain and compassion exuded from her pores, kind words always pouring from her lips. He also loved the way she made him feel. It may sound corny, but she made him feel normal and special and different, all at the same time.

Manny was taken with Charlie as well. Something about his manner, how he always looked like he carried the world on his shoulders, the way the burden was lifted when Don would praise him. His curly dark hair fell into hisdark eyesin just the right way. What Manny found herself loving the most was how he looked when he did math. The intense look of care and concentration made her heart skip a beat. When he did math, it made it look like the world made sense, no matter what happened.

Manny and Charlie both were lost in their state of bliss and confusion. Both began to lean in closer. Unfortunately for Manny, as Charlie was taller, she needed something to steady herself. Without realizing it, Manny set her hand on the hot stove coils. She quickly pulled her hand back, screaming some choice words before running into Charlie, knocking him to the floor. Don and Alan, who were both trying to watch without being too obvious, ran into the kitchen. There they found Manny on top of Charlie, clutching her hand and both fighting off giggles.

"What happened?" Don asked, looking at them, quite confused. Manny simply pointed to the oven range with her good hand, laughing despite the tears of pain in her eyes.

"Well I'm happy you enjoyed it," Alan said, helping both off the floor. "Let's get something on that hand. It's not burnt too bad." He pulled her out of the kitchen to the bathroom, leaving Don and a laughing Charlie in the kitchen.

**Authors Note: I'm so evil. But I had to burn Manny! They couldn't get too close too quickly. Now that Don and Charlie are alone, as are Alan and Manny, keep an eye out for some good dialogue. Thanks and keep on RR!  
-Shelby **


	6. Stealth in the Epps House

Chapter 5

Manny winced as Alan squeezed some sort of lotion on her burnt hand. She smiled at first, enjoying the scent of the ointment. Now that it was on her hand, she decided she hated both the cream and the stove.

"What is that stuff?" she asked him, eyeing the package.

"Special burn cream. You learn to keep it around when you have two sons who aren't always all the way there, if you know what I mean," he said chuckling. She grinned and clenched her jaw as white-hot pain stabbed her palm. 'He definitely knows what he's doing,' she thought.

"From what I've learned in the time I've spent with them," she laughed, "you probably need a fully stocked hospital!" He looked up from her hand to smile at her. "You really do have two amazing sons, Mr. Epps," she said, looking towards the hall.

"Call me Alan, please! Mr. Epps makes me sound old." Manny's heart fell at his comment. Alan reminded her of her own dad, who she had been missing a lot lately. Alan took notice of the change in her disposition, but only held her hand gentler. "They are pretty good boys, aren't they? Good to know they turned out well. We…that is, my wife and I, had quite the trouble when they were growing up."

"How could you not? Both of them are exceptional. There's bound to be a little head butting," she commented. Charlie was exceptional, yes, but so was Don. Maybe he wasn't special in the most obvious way, but he truly was as special as his brother.

"A little?" Alan asked, remembering the emotional issues both his sons had had growing up. Alan stopped tending to Manny's hand for a second, looking her in the eye. "It seems to me," he started, "that you think one of my boys is a little more exceptional than the other." He egged her on; he knew what she really thought, but was curious if she'd admit it to him. He was Don's father after all.

Manny's face turned as red as her palm as a grin snuck across her lips. "You could say that," she stammered. She had been caught. Was it that obvious? There was no way for her to hide it now.

"No need to get embarrassed Manny. But isn't he a bit old for you?"

Manny looked at him, dumbfounded. "Pardon?" she asked.

"Don. Isn't Don a little old for you?" Alan's brow furrowed as he looked at Manny.

Manny's eye grew wide, realizing what Alan was thinking. "Mr. Epps! Yes, Don is much too old for me! He's nice and all, don't get me wrong," she started.

"So I guess Don was right. You don't like Don?" Alan asked, still not sure of the story.

"No, sir. Well, not as anything more than a friend. I do like him as a friend." Manny's cheeks had become a wind-burned pink.

"Ah. I see. Just curious though, do you like Charlie?" Manny did not answer, letting her red cheeks answer for her. "Hmm. That does make sense. I had a feeling you had a thing for one of the Epps boys. I guess my senses are getting a little rusty."

"You almost had it," she remarked, trying to calm herself down.

"Almost." Alan smiled and patted her hand. "But you hand is just about done. I would suggest using a little cold water to cool your face down."

Manny grinned back at him before grabbing him in a hug. Alan was a little taken back at first, but relaxed into the hug quickly.

…..

Charlie laughed at the caricature-like form his brother had taken. He was leaning at strange angle, attempting to hear the conversation in the bathroom. Their house was not made for stealth and that made Don's work hard. After a few minutes of failure, he finally gave up and sat at the kitchen table.

"You would think an FBI agent would be better at that," Charlie commented as he stirred the noodles. Don laughed at himself, looking defeated.

"You know, you should be the one straining your neck to hear the conversation! I could have sworn I heard your name," Don said, rubbing his neck.

"I should, shouldn't I?" Charlie asked, smiling slightly. "Maybe I shouldn't. I don't know. What I do know is that I love being around Manny now. I don't want to screw that up." His face fell at the thought of loosing Manny as a friend. It fell further at the thought of having her only as a friend.

Don looked at his brother, his eyes open wide. "You really like her, don't you?" Charlie looked guilty as charged. "Well, of course you do! How could you not?" Don asked happily, making Charlie blush. "You better be good to her, Char. I don't want to lose another agent."

"Lose another agent? Why?" Manny asked, walking into the kitchen. Alan followed soon after. Charlie eyed Manny's bandaged hand with guilt before she caught his eye and made him smile again.

"Nothing, just discussing some things from the office," Don said, trying to wave off the topic. "Ready to eat?" Everyone nodded hungrily and began to get plates out.

Charlie wasn't exactly sure, but he could have sworn he felt Manny's knee against his at the dinner table. And was it just his imagination, or was Manny smiling just at him, not anyone else? Why did his knees feel weak whenever he was around her? This was all quite curious to him and he had a feeling this couldn't be solved with a math problem.

**Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long you guys! I've been really busy lately. Thanks again for all the reviews! They've been a great help. Kudos to all of you that have been writing fanfics! Last I checked, there were over 40! That's incredible. When I started, there were 12. Snaps for all you!**


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